L'académie de M. Kleks

Despite my great desire to whitewash this film with the argument that it is a children's production, unfortunately it is difficult for me to say anything positive about it. I wonder who the target audience of this film is, because it is scary at times, and the "wolves" use a fictitious language with subtitles as a translation, which may be a problem for children up to 8 years old. The film's production is very poor: the dialogues are artificial and quite awkward to listen to for older viewers - people don't talk like that, the magical land looks very cheesy and doesn't seem extraordinary. Moreover, the photos from the movie were better in moments when the action takes place in the "normal world" (my personal opinion). Mr. Kleks himself, as well as most of the characters, are created to be funny, but it doesn't work here either. However, the biggest complaint I have against "Mr. Klesek's Academy" is the length of the film and, at the same time, its incredible chaotic nature and lack of consistency in the continuation of threads or events. Personally, I got lost in space-time a few times and couldn't understand many situations, let alone a viewer aged 6-10. There were many small children in the cinema hall, and I also had an ambitious task to explain to my 6-year-old sister what, where and how. The songs were definitely a big plus as they enlivened the children during the show and most of the room sang along. Additionally, the messages woven into this chaotic projection were very valuable, but I am not sure whether they were catchable for a young viewer. I am not able to rate this film and I am still not sure who it is intended for. However, after leaving the room, my younger sister said that she liked the film, so it seems that the film is popular among children 😉

Kleks Academy, a modern remake of a classic 1980s film based on the book from 1946, impressively stands out in its technical aspects. The visual effects are of high caliber, rivaling those seen in international cinema, indicating a significant advancement in the quality of effects compared to its predecessor. Complementing these visuals, the movie's soundtrack is notable for its quality, adding depth and atmosphere to the scenes. Notable but not to the level of 1980's music, which become iconing for many children of that time

However, a film cannot ride solely on its technical merits, and it's here that Pan Kleks begins to falter. As someone familiar with both the book and the original film, I had high expectations for this adaptation. There was an opportunity for this story to resonate globally, potentially emulating the success of franchises like Harry Potter. Unfortunately, that potential remains unfulfilled.

The primary issue lies in the character development, particularly with Professor Kleks. Despite a solid performance by the actor, the character is diminished by a poorly written script, reducing what should be a central figure to a mere background presence. This lack of character depth is a recurring problem; even the diverse group of children introduced from around the world are relegated to fulfilling stereotypes rather than being fully realized characters.

Narratively, the film struggles with coherence and engagement. The plot feels disjointed and often dull, lacking the compelling storytelling necessary to captivate an audience. Relationships between characters, like that between Adriana and her 'best friend' Albert, are underdeveloped, missing opportunities to build emotional connections or sympathy with the audience.

In this lackluster ensemble, two performances stand out: Danuta Stenka and Sebastian Stankiewicz. Stenka, in her role as one of the antagonists, and Stankiewicz, as Mateusz, bring much-needed vitality to their scenes, eliciting genuine emotional responses such as laughter, fear, or anger. Their efforts, however, are not enough to carry the entire film.

In conclusion, while Kleks Academy excels in its visual and auditory presentation, it falls short in its storytelling and character development. The movie had the potential to introduce this beloved Polish story to a broader audience but ultimately fails to deliver a compelling or coherent narrative. Regrettably, despite its visual and auditory merits, Kleks Academy falls short of realizing its full potential. With a more refined script and visionary direction, this adaptation could have truly honored the cherished story it sought to bring to life.

This would have been so much better as a limited series. It felt like so much of the plot was missing, left on the cutting room floor, in a bid to fit the film into the two and a bit hour run time. Nice cinematography but what little story there was jumped about so made little sense. There was no real character development, no flow & no reason to invest in any of the characters. Virtually no story telling, unless perhaps you're familiar with the book and can fill in the gaps? (I'm not) It doesn't make a lot of sense. Very disappointing as this had so much potential. What an unfortunate waste..

I'm a big fan of all 'magic academies' in any regards, in both book and film form: Harry Potter, Miss Peregrine, Charlie Bone, amongst others. Unlike the previous three, I went into this without any prior knowledge of the franchise. Imagine Harry Potter mixing in Narnia for this.

It's got spirit, the potential for the series and obvious draw are there. The effects and setting are great too, on par with American production - you could even see what was happening in the darker scenes.

This film falls when it comes to story sadly. It's a mess with little consistency. Sure, I understood the broad strokes of the story and what the characters wished to do, however, that was it. Characters rarely, barring three exceptions, grew or made me fully attached to their progression. Locations and world building came out of nowhere and I got lost trying to remember which characters to care for.

Major potential and a contender to join the magical school success is cut short by odd editing choices and a poorly plotted story. Like others have mentioned, I'd be interested to see the director's cut.

I am very happy that Polish domestic cinematography has finally started to cram the manual on "How to make films?" and they clearly reached the chapters "Shots", "Cropping", "Special Effects, especially ones looking not like a rubber dragon". Unfortunately, they didn't have time to review Chapter 7 "The Cutting and Editing" before they released the film for distribution. Or the entire budget was spent on shoots, set design and CGI, and there wasn't enough for the editor and it was put together by Joe, the director's brother-in-law. It is also possible that more material was shot and that it will be turned into a TV series, but what was to be included in the film was chosen haphazardly.

Aesthetically, the film is beautiful, individual scenes are interestingly done, the children's acting is good, but the main problem is the strange inconsistency of the plot and editing. It's really hard to describe.

The film is definitely good to watch ... in an altered stated of mind. These orgies of colors... om nom nom. ;)

Tomasz Kot carries the role well, and so does the main character (minus a few moments of the so-called "high cringe value"). The boss of the bad guys is awesome (Danuta Stenka).

But even at the stage of introducing Fronczewski (who played Professor Kleks in previous installment) there are inconsistencies, sometimes it is hinted at us that the title "Professor Kleks" is something like "Dr. Who" or "high school principal", and at other times it is suggested that Fronczewski was "someone else".

Our group at the cinema was trying hard to figure out the strange jumps in the plot and we quite often looked at each other with a bit of "wtf?" in our eyes.

I would love to see some sort of "director's cut" with the movie flow streamlined.

But the kids liked it.

There will be a sequel.